


I can go the distance

by Girl_with_the_tiger_eyes



Category: Black Sails
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-09 06:28:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6893779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Girl_with_the_tiger_eyes/pseuds/Girl_with_the_tiger_eyes





	I can go the distance

"She's bad luck, I tell ye captain! A woman on deck? Sure to bring us nought but trouble!" A short, fat man hissed at the captain. The same man who had said the same thing the day before, and the day before that, and every day since they'd discovered you hiding below deck, a stowaway they'd unknowingly picked up in London, two weeks before. They'd found you five days ago, sneaking food from the stores, only enough so you weren't starving to death, but it still got you caught, and you hadn't been allowed out of the captain's sight since. 

Not that you had anywhere else to be anyway, you'd spent enough time below deck and it was nice to feel the sea spray on your face and the wind in your hair. You'd hidden yourself on the merchant ship when you'd heard where they were headed, knowing that it was likely to be the only decent shot you had of getting out of London for a while. You were sick of the sight of it, and had been planning on going to the Americas as soon as you could find work on a ship to earn your passage. Only, most of the men had been superstitious fools like the fat man in front of you, and hadn't wanted a woman on board, no matter how hard you worked or the price you were willing to pay. You were bad luck apparently.

"What do you suppose we do with her then? Throw her overboard?! We're in the middle of the ocean!" The captain yelled at the fat man, his temper finally fraying after hearing the same thing every day. The fat bastard actually looked like he might suggest throwing you overboard, but the looks he received from both you and the captain prompted him to keep his mouth shut. He turned on his heel and walked away, muttering to himself about bad luck, so you rolled your eyes and started walking in the other direction, wanting to peer over the edge of the ship at the crashing waves below.

"Hey!" A shout came, so you turned around with your eyebrows raised, seeing the captain staring after you. "Get back here. I was serious when I said you're not to leave my sight. I'll not have you stealing any of my goods!" He snapped, gesturing to the seat beside him, which you rolled your eyes at again before obeying, sauntering over to it in your own time. It was understandable that the captain didn't want you near his cargo. You were a stowaway that refused to tell them anything about you, not even your name. Not that they really cared. You were one woman, what exactly could you do to them?

Unknown to the whole crew though, you'd acquired various items since being discovered, items which you would sell once you docked and slipped away from the captain. It wouldn't be hard. They underestimated you, and none of them had realised that you were a skilled thief yet, so they had no reason to keep a close eye on you. You had other hidden skills that would come in handy, should getting away from the captain prove to be more difficult than you expected, but you doubted it. He didn't look like a fighter, and you knew he wouldn't chase you for long either. He was rich enough to be well fed and have other people do his dirty work, so he would be slow and unfit. 

You were sitting in the chair beside the captain, surveying the crew and wondering who was likely to give you the most trouble should you need to fight or run, when the fat man shouted to the captain from the rigging on your left.

"Sails!"

The captain stood so fast that his chair almost tipped backwards, and he was rushing to the fat man, his hand reaching for the spyglass to search for the other ship. You followed quickly behind him, your interest taken by the ship fast approaching, close enough that you had to wonder why they were using the spyglass and what the hell the crew had been doing to not spot the ship closing the distance behind them.

You were just about to ask that question when you caught movement on the back of the other ship, and your heart froze for a second when you realised what you were seeing. A blag flag.

"Pirates!" The captain yelled, drawing his gun and sword as he shouted down to those below deck. "Ready the cannons! Blast them out of the sea!" He ordered as he ran to the wheel, ready to try and escape. 

You knew that it was a wasted effort. The ship you were on had no hope of escaping the pirates, a fact made only clearer when there was an almighty boom! and then a huge crack above your head, followed by the sound of men screaming,and then the groaning of wood as the mast snapped and began its decent to the deck.

You were fast on your feet and managed to evade it, running in the opposite direction as the men around you, getting closer to the approaching ship. There was another cannon shot and you covered your head and ears as you ducked for cover, your back slamming into an alcove under the steps. You could see the surviving men running for a door that led to the captain's quarters, and you saw the logic, knowing you'd be safe in there, until the pirates bust the door down, but if they found what they wanted, they might leave the crew alive. So you stood and started running to the door, seeing the other ship coming up along side you from the corner of your eye. It didn't matter though, you were almost...

The door was slammed, locking you outside, alone while the crew hid inside.

"Let me in!" You yelled, slamming your hand onto the wooden door repeatedly, your heart hammering in your chest hard enough that it ached. You didn't have long...

The fat man spoke from behind the door, his voice oddly smug, though laced with fear. "You brought them down on us... They can take you in exchange for our lives!"

You couldn't believe what you were hearing, but you knew that the door wasn't going to be opened by the men inside, so you'd have to save yourself.

Sprinting back across deck, you picked up a fallen sword, heading for the front of the ship, only to find your path blocked by the fallen mast. Before you had time to run around it, pirates were spilling onto the deck, their eyes already on you, blocking your path so you couldn't run.

Your heart was making it hard to focus as it was beating so loudly, but you somehow managed to shut it out, and the sound of the pirates reached your ears. They seemed surprised to encounter a lone woman on the deck of the ship. 

You held up your sword, making sure none of them came any closer, but you were met with only laughter. If not for the fear in your chest, you might have been annoyed, but you were used to it, and shouting your mouth off about the fact that you knew what you were doing would not be the smartest move, when you had the element of surprise on your side.

"Stay back!" You commanded, your voice sounding stronger than you felt, not betraying your fear, for which you were thankful. You would not be seen as weak by these men.

You were met with more laughter, but this time a guy stepped forward, his own sword drawn, put pointed down as he grinned at you, a cheeky grin that might have been charming if not for the fact that he was part of a pirate crew very likely to hurt you. "How about you put the sword down, Sweetheart, and I wont hurt ya?" He offered, the others chuckling quietly behind him, so you nodded your head at his sword.

"I suppose it's only fair to offer you the same deal," you called, to which the pirate crew roared with laughter and hooted their delight, though the one facing you lost his grin and raised his sword, so you tensed in preparation. He struck fast, going low for your legs, but you were faster, dodging out of the way and then quickly jabbing with your own sword, giving him a shallow cut along his thigh, much to his anger.

He came at you again, stronger than you, but not as skilled, and you knew that you were winning that fight as soon as you felt like it. His crew had gone quiet as they watched you, so in a final strike, you disarmed the pirate, your sword coming to rest at his throat. "Looks like you dropped your sword, Sweetheart. I can't kill an unarmed man... So pick it up," you hissed. 

His face lost all colour as the two of you panted, but he didn't pick up his sword. You were just about to finish it when the sound of another sword being drawn caught your attention, and you looked up to see another man coming forward, his piercing eyes on your own. You backed up a few steps, giving yourself room to fight.

"The Captain, I presume?" You asked, met with a quick nod. You barely had time to wonder how long you'd last against him, when he pounced, coming at you fast enough that you barely had time to knock his blade aside before it punctured your throat, spinning away quickly, but he was just as fast, his sword always waiting. You managed to block all of his blows, but had yet to even attempt one of your own as you were constantly on the back foot. But then he swung at you hand, and you managed to twist past it and land a kick to the captain's stomach, sending him back a few steps, you close behind, working your advantage while you had it.

The crew jumped out of the way of the pair of you, the sight distracting you slightly, costing you as the captain dodged past your guard, grabbing the hilt of your sword and slamming his elbow into your chest and knocking you to the ground, disarmed.

You were breathing heavily as you stared up at him, watching as he faced you and the crew said nothing, waiting to see what was going to happen. For a long moment the captain just stared down at you, both swords in his hand. You knew that it was over. He'd either kill you himself or one of the crew would grab you and drag you off. You could only hope that if he was to kill you, it'd be quick, though you wouldn't give any of them the satisfaction of begging. So you stared right back at the captain, defiance in your eyes.

After another moment, a smirk came to the captain's face and he put his sword away before throwing yours aside.

"My name is Captain James Flint, and this is my crew. You fight well, lady... Perhaps better than some of my men," Some of the crew laughed, and you watched them carefully. You knew the stories of Flint and his crew, and had you known who you were up against before, you probably wouldn't have picked up a sword. Flint's eyes returned to you and he stepped closer, offering you a hand up, which you just looked at.

"We can always use more good fighters on our crew, so if you take my hand, you join us, and I swear that no harm will come to you from my men. But it does not come without cost. If you take my hand, you will be a pirate, and never able to return to a regular life on land. You will be hunted along with the rest of us... The choice is yours."

For another moment you looked at his hand, weighing up your options, though in your heart you already knew what you would choose, the flutter of excitement in your chest letting you know you were making the right decision when you reached up and took his hand.

Flint grinned and pulled you to your feet, and you were patted on the shoulder by other crew members as they moved on, spreading around the ship to complete the task they'd come to do.

"Welcome to the crew..." Flint trailed off, waiting for you to supply him with a name, so you nodded and met his gaze.

"Y/N. My name is Y/N."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Three weeks later and you hadn't regret the decision yet. The crew had welcomed you ok, most of them not having a problem with you, and the remaining few that were off put were changed once you had the chance to prove yourself to them. You didn't let yourself show weakness and never allowed anyone to do your tasks. You were part of the crew and no matter what job you were given, you did it without complaint, slowly earning the respect of the whole crew.

You were enjoying your time with them, hearing stories about the infamous Nassau, but yet to see it as they had been busy hunting more ships. Though that morning Flint had announced that they were finally heading home, to which the crew all cheered, excited to be getting off the ship after so long. You could see the appeal, having been at sea longer than any of them, and though you loved it, dry land was beckoning.

It was predicted you'd be in Nassau the following evening, dependant on the weather, but it all looked good, so the crew were in high spirits, telling you of all the things in Nassau, and the people to meet there. You were excited, so you spent the day working and then training with the crew as you always did, learning what you could from them. You were regularly put on your arse, but so were the others, and you were getting so good with a sword that you might have been debating to ask the captain to spar had your time not be taken up with Billy, learning how to fight without weapons. You'd chosen him to train you and regretted it every day since. Just because he was a sweetheart as a friend, did not mean he took it easy of you while you were training, and his height and build advantage meant that you felt like a child trying to fight.

Still, you steadily improved, and you were sure you could at least hold your own in a fight against regular men now.

"Ok, thats enough for tonight. Go get some rest, all of you," Billy ordered as you managed to tackle Silver to the floor and pin him beneath you, forcing him to yield before you got off him and helped him to his feet.

The crew obliged, but when you saw Billy heading for the steps to take watch, you followed him and put your hand on his arm to stop him. He turned back and looked down at you, looking fainting amused. "Good job today, Y/N. You're getting better," he noted, and you thanked him with a smile before gesturing to the stairs he was about to head up.

"Thanks. I'll take first watch tonight, you should get some rest. I'll wake you in a couple of hours," you offered, happy when he nodded, heading back below deck to get some much needed sleep. He'd been up most of the night before on watch, and he'd been working all day in the blazing sun that had brought the freckles on your face out and lightened your hair a few shades over the weeks you'd been working under it. He needed the rest more than you, and you wanted to sit alone in the cool night air for a while anyway. You'd fallen in love with the sight of stars and still water, reminding you just how big the world truly was.

So you sat on the edge of the sip and stared out at it in the dark, hypnotic when paired with the steady rhythm of waves lapping against the side of the ship. You were so entranced that you didn't even notice the Captain approaching until he was leaning on the side beside you, looking out into the water.

You watched him from the corner of your eye, waiting for him to say something. You hadn't spoke all that much since joining his crew, not alone at least, so you wondered what would have prompted him to come find you.

After a moment he spoke. "You're fitting in well here..." he noted, and you turned to face him, nodding your agreement, wondering what he was getting at.

"I'm glad to have you as part of my crew, but I've been meaning to ask you for some time now... Why were you on that merchant ship? You said they offered you to us, so I can't imagine you were one of the crew. You certainly weren't dressed like a Lady. So all I can assume is a stowaway?" He guessed and you chuckled a little and nodded.

"Yes. I heard them talking about heading out here while I was in London, so I hid on their ship for passage. No one would take me otherwise, so I hid and stayed out of sight for over a week until I was caught..."

Flint nodded, looking like he was deep in thought, and he turned to you and met your gaze head on. "Why?"

You knew what he was asking. Why had you hidden on a ship to come to America. Why would a lone girl be willing to travel so far alone, with no money, no family, and no protection? You knew that he probably thought you were running from something, but he would be wrong. You were running towards something. So turning your body to face him completely, you crossed your legs and explained to him.

"I have often dreamed off a far off place, where a great, warm welcoming would be waiting for me. Where the crowds will cheer when they see my face and a voice keeps saying that this is where I'm meant to be. I've been alone for a long time. My family died when I was a child and I've been wandering by myself ever since..." You turned away and looked back to the still waters and thousands of stars.

"I will find my way, I can go the distance. I'll be there someday if I can be strong.I know every mile will be worth my while, and I'll go anywhere to feel like I belong."

The two of you were silent for a few moments after that, the pair of you thinking about what you'd said. You meant it. You weren't afraid of anything in your way of getting to where you belonged. You were strong and you could beat it. Especially with the crew... You stopped that thought in shock. The crew.

Sometime during the weeks you'd been with them, you'd started adding them to your dream, and you couldn't imagine going anywhere without them.

Your thoughts and shock must have been clear on your face as Flint smiled and patted your booted foot. "Maybe you don't have to go any further. Something tells me that you've found what you're looking for," he smirked as he turned away, heading back to the steps that would lead him down below deck to the others. The men who you'd gladly give your life to protect.

Your brothers.

Your home.


End file.
